WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah — Two school-aged children in Washington County are the latest in Utah to have tested positive for measles, health officials announced Monday.
The Southwest Utah Public Health Department did not announce the ages of the children who have been infected with measles, but parents of all students at Water Canyon Elementary School and Water Canyon High School, where the children attend, have been notified of the exposure.
Neither child was vaccinated, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services' Measles Dashboard.
The health department has told parents of students at the schools that no quarantine is necessary if their own children have received two documented doses of the measles vaccine.
As of Monday, the total number of measles cases in Utah stands at 13.
Children are routinely vaccinated for measles at 12 to 15 months and again at 4 to 6 years of age — before going to kindergarten — but children as young as 6 months old can receive the measles vaccine if they are at risk.
According to the CDC, measles causes the following symptoms:
- Pneumonia
- Brain Damage
- Blindness
- Deafness
- Diarrhea
- Premature birth or low-birthweight baby (in unvaccinated pregnant women who contract measles during pregnancy)
- Measles infection leads to loss of immunity to other deadly diseases
Anyone who develops symptoms is asked to stay away from people and call a healthcare provider. Do not go to a clinic or hospital without calling ahead to prevent others from exposure.
